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oneilj - Posted on 01 March 2011

Erie County Legislature’s Minority Caucus Leader John Mills, R-Orchard Park, announced on Tuesday that the Caucus submitted a resolution for the next Legislative session that opposes a proposed Assembly Bill to impose annual registration fees on bicycles.

Minority Leader Mills, and Legislators Lynne Dixon, Hamburg; Dino Fudoli, R-Lancaster; Kevin Hardwick, R-Tonawanda; Edward Rath III, R-Amherst; and Ray Walter, R-Clarence, have signed on as cosponsors of the resolution and clocked it in for the Legislature’s March 17 session.

“This proposed fee would discourage residents of New York from using bicycles for low cost, environmentally friendly transportation. It also pushes another tax onto residents during a time when no new taxes should even be considered,” Minority Leader Mills said. “This is an outrageous proposal that must be opposed by our state leaders.”

The Minority Caucus’s resolution states that the proposed bill acts as a “cash grab to plug a hole in the New York State budget as an alternative to cutting spending.” The resolution goes on to say that if approved the bill would discourage families and residents from using bicycles as exercise and transportation. The Caucus supports encouraging healthy activity and environmentally friendly transportation. It opposes new fees and taxes that burden residents.

The Minority Caucus will request that members of the Majority Caucus support the resolution at the next session. If approved on March 17, a certified copy of the resolution would be sent to leaders in Albany, requesting that this bill be denied.